Word: barzel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...treaty to his electorate as the capstone of his Ostpolitik?and both East Germany and the Soviet Union have made no secret of the fact that they would like to see him win. Wisely figuring that there were no votes to be had in opposing detente, Opposition Leader Rainer Barzel has concentrated his attacks on West Germany's worrisome inflation (currently, around 6%). But if the treaty swings only a minute percentage of the vote, it could make the difference between another deadlocked Bundestag and a likely victory for Brandt...
...Barzel likes modish suits and wears fashionably long sideburns. He does not socialize much, but does like to invite business and professional leaders to his home for wide-ranging discussions. He and Strauss have occasionally amused their associates by holding heated arguments in Latin...
Despite a series of blunders that would have finished off a less resilient politician, Barzel began an irreversible march to the top. In 1963, when an aging Konrad Adenauer finally decided to resign as Chancellor and toyed with the idea of taking the ceremonial post of federal President, Barzel prematurely backed Der Alte for the job before the old man had made up his mind (Adenauer never took the presidency). At the same time, Barzel pushed Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor, although Adenauer, who remained party chairman, did not want Erhard to succeed him. In his greatest miscalculation, Barzel backed himself...
Eventually Barzel got his big opportunity through his party's loss of power. After the C.D.U. was left out of the government in 1969, Barzel picked up the pieces of his shattered party more deftly than anyone else. Last year, after forming an alliance with the conservative Strauss, who commands the party's Bavarian wing, Barzel won an easy victory for party leadership...
...average of 60? a loaf. I asked one supermarket customer how he would vote on Nov. 19. "I am not yet sure," he replied. "I won't tell you what party I belong to, but I will say that I'm not sure I trust Barzel. I trust Brandt, but I'm not sure about his party. If he's not careful, he could be leading us to another Weimar...